Overcrowing of passengers causes death to Jharkhand labourers

Published: Monday, October 15, 2007, 14:04 [IST]

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Agartala, Oct 15 (UNI) Jharkhand's Labour department Superintendent D K Singh arrived here and visited the ailing labourers who had been admitted to a makeshift hospital in north Tripura after they fell sick in an overcrowed night bus of Guwahati-Agartala route.

Official sources here today said that the post-mortem reports had confirmed that suffocation and dehydration were primary causes that killed some seven passengers on their journey from Guwahati to Agartala in the past three days. The victims were mostly migrant labourers from Jharkhand, who were coming for brick-kiln jobs.

Mr Singh has also met some government officials here and discussed over the issue of illegal migration of job seekers and their transportation under inhuman condition.

Reacting to the deaths in the buses, some NGOs have called a joint meeting tomorrow to discuss the issue and to press the authorities for immediate implementation of laws against overloading in public vehicles, introduction of fare structure and other logistics facilites in the long distance buses.

Director General of Police K T D Singh said there should be rule and regulations for inter-state night service buses so that basic amenities were provided to the passengers.

"This is a tragic incident and I have directed officers of West Agartala and Kumarghat police stations to register cases against the drivers, conductors and owners of the buses. Our Chief secretary Shashi Prakash also spoke to his Jharkhand counterpart and the matter has been taken up with the government of Assam also, because the buses started from Guwahati," the DGP said.

The police chief admitted the mishap occurred due to overcrowding of the vehicles and promised to keep a strict watch on long-distance buses that enter Tripura.